Orthopedic braces are commonly employed on the body of a user to stabilize a skeletal joint that has been weakened by injury or other infirmity. The braces characteristically have either rigid or elastic structural components supporting the joint. Typically, the structural components of rigid braces are dynamically linked together by hinges enabling controlled movement of the joint during rehabilitative therapy or routine user activity. Such braces are positioned on the body so that the hinges traverse the joint being stabilized, while the rigid components are secured to the body along a plurality of engagement faces above and below, as well as adjacent to the joint. Substantially solid elastomeric pads or fluid-filled pneumatic pads are often positioned on the brace between the body and the rigid support components to enhance the fit of the brace with the body and to cushion the body of the user from the engagement faces.
Despite the placement of pads on rigid braces, the user frequently experiences discomfort from painful point loads while wearing a closely-fitted padded brace because of the high forces the brace applies to the body across the engagement faces during routine activity or rehabilitative therapy. Such discomfort is particularly acute where the pad does not possess proper compression characteristics or the brace is not properly sized and configured in conformance with the structure of the brace and the contours of the body. It has also been found that body tissue undergoes transient changes, such as swelling or shrinkage, during routine or rehabilitative physical activity for which pads employed in rigid braces are not configured and consequently to which such pads do not readily adjust.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,201,203 discloses an elastic knee brace having an open-loop, elastomeric pad conformable to the patella. U.S. Pat. No. 4,777,946 similarly discloses an elastic knee brace having a closed-loop, elastomeric pad conformable to the patella. U.S. Pat. No. 4,378,009 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,938,207 both disclose elastic knee braces having inflatable pneumatic pads conformable to the patella. Nevertheless, corresponding body-conforming pneumatic pads are not found in rigid orthopedic braces.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,125,400 discloses a rigid orthopedic brace having inflatable pneumatic pads positioned between the ankle of the user and the rigid support components of the brace. U.S. Pat. No. 5,107,823 discloses a thigh guard having an inflatable pneumatic pad positioned between the thigh and a rigid protective shell. In both instances, however, the pads are not significantly configured in conformance with the corresponding body contours.
Some rigid orthopedic braces have specifically addressed the problem of closely fitting the rigid brace with the knee or elbow while simultaneously cushioning the body from the brace. French patent publication FR 2627-381-A discloses a rigid brace having a pair of rounded, incompressible fluid-filled pads positioned on the brace to abut the knee or elbow condyles. U.S. Pat. No. 3,581,741 discloses a rigid brace having a doughnut-shaped solid elastomeric pad positioned against the medial meniscus of the knee in association with an adjacent inflatable pneumatic thigh pad. Yet, the prior art does not disclose pneumatic pads configured in substantial conformance with the contours of the user's body.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an orthopedic brace that can be secured to the body of a user with both a high degree of stable support and a high degree of user comfort. It is further an object of the present invention to provide an orthopedic brace employing a plurality of pads that systematically stabilizes the brace against the body of the user by dynamically conforming to the contours of the body and the structure of the brace, while cushioning the contours from the rigid structural components of the brace.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an off-the-shelf orthopedic brace that can be adapted to fit the body contours of any number of users. It is another object of the present invention to provide a custom orthopedic brace that is readily configured to the body contours of a specific individual user. It is still another object of the present invention to provide an orthopedic brace having a fit that can be instantaneously adapted to the requirements of different activities by the user. It is a further object of the present invention to provide an orthopedic brace having a fit that can be instantaneously adjusted to transient conditions of the body such as localized tissue swelling or shrinkage.